TEHRAN (Iran News)  Police in the Philippines have arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte following an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over a case of crime against humanity filed against him.

Duterte was taken into custody upon arrival from Hong Kong on Tuesday, hours after the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Manila received the arrest warrant from the ICC, President Ferdinand Marcos’ office said in a statement.

“Upon arrival, the Prosecutor General presented the official ICC notification confirming the arrest warrant to the former president,” the statement said.

The government had earlier said it would not cooperate with the ICC but it noted that the country will be obliged to act to help the Interpol.

79-year-old Duterte is being investigated for the mass killings during his presidency after he launched a bloody war on drugs.

The surprise arrest sparked a commotion at the airport, where lawyers and aides of Duterte tried to prevent his detention calling it “a violation of his constitutional right.”

The arrest, however, has been hailed by the families of the victims. “This is a big, long-awaited day for justice,” said Randy delos Santos, the uncle of a teenager killed by police during an anti-drug operation in August 2017 in Manila.

The ICC began investigating drug killings under Duterte in late 2011, when he was still mayor of the southern city of Davao.

In 2019, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute in a move human rights activists say was aimed at escaping accountability for the crimes committed during his presidency. “Philippine ”

The Duterte administration also tried to suspend the ICC investigation in late 2021, arguing that Manila was already looking into the matter and that The Hague-based court didn’t have jurisdiction.

Appeals judges at the ICC in 2023 rejected those arguments and ruled in favor of resuming the investigation about extrajudicial killings.

The post Ex-Philippine President Duterte arrested on ICC warrant over drug killings appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News,  Philippines Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran Wilfredo C. Santos on Tuesday met and held talks with Chairman of the Philippines-Iran Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Mr. Alireza Salimi.

During the meeting, Salimi said that Iran and the Philippines in the past years have advanced their relations based on the mutual interests, adding that the international developments have failed to cause any disruption in Tehran-Manila ties.

He then pointed to the old and sustainable relation between both states in different fields like economic, cultural and political, adding that formation of parliamentary friendship groups is a move for boosting and developing bilateral relations, reiterating that Majlis fully supports bolstering and strengthening relations in the economic, trade and cultural fields.

Salimi, who is a member of presiding board of Majlis, added that joint cooperation in regional and international bodies is to the benefit of both countries, and boosting level of relations in agro and economic sectors are of the important issues for both states.

He then pointed to the assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, and the U.S. sanctions and urged international organizations to probe this terrorist and anti-human rights act.

Mr. Santos, for his part, pointed to the historic relation between Tehran and Manila, and called Iran an important, peace-loving and historic country in the Middle East.

He also stated that Iran is a friendly country which has always supported the Philippines in diplomatic, regional and international relations especially in the UN.

He also praised Iran’s growth in technology, defense and scientific equipment and its special stand in the world nano-technology, announcing his country’s readiness for expansion of ties in this sector.

Santos then emphasized parliamentarian interactions between both states and exchanges of delegations between parliaments of both countries.

The post Int’l Developments Not Disrupted Tehran-Manila Relations appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, President of Iran congratulated the Philippines on its Independence Day, hoping for the promotion of bilateral and international cooperation between Tehran and Manila.

In a letter to his Filipino counterpart Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani congratulated the Philippines on the anniversary of gaining independence from Spain.

Highlighting the historical background of relations between Iran and the Philippines, President Rouhani expressed hope that two Asian nations would enhance the bilateral, regional and international cooperation in light of their potential.

He also wished the Philippines prosperity and success.

Iran and the Philippines started bilateral relations in 1974.

In recent years, the two governments have ramped up efforts to enhance the political, economic and cultural ties.

The post Iran Urges Expansion of Ties with the Philippines appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (pix) has threatened a martial law-like crackdown to stop people flouting a virus lockdown in the nation’s capital.

Duterte spoke a day after authorities reported an upsurge of cars on Manila’s roads, which have been nearly deserted since a sweeping lockdown was imposed a month ago on about half the country’s 110 million people.

“I’m just asking for a little discipline. If not, if you do not believe me, then the military and police will take over, “Duterte said in a televised speech late Thursday.

“The military and police will enforce social distancing at curfew… It’s like martial law. You choose, “he added, AFP reported.

Duterte has repeatedly threatened to impose nationwide military rule over the Philippines, where the mere words evoke the worst rights abuses of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship.

The closest Duterte has come is the imposition of martial law over Mindanao, the nation’s southern third, in response to Daesh(ISIL or ISIS) -inspired militants’ siege of the city of Marawi.

As reported cases of the new coronavirus started to climb in March, Duterte ordered a quarantine of the main northern island of Luzon, which includes the capital’s 12 million people.

Only essential workers and people buying food or medicine are officially allowed outside their homes, yet many others have flouted the rules.

In some places, impoverished day laborers have no choice but to go out looking for work, though police have also reported breaking up social events like amateur boxing matches.

Police said they have warned or arrested tens of thousands of people caught outside their homes without valid reasons.

The Philippines has detected some 5,660 coronavirus cases, and recorded 362 deaths, but those figures are expected to climb as the nation ramps up testing.

The post Philippines’ Duterte Threatens Martial Law-Like Virus Crackdown appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Survivors of the accident, including a Chinese and a Russian, were brought by coast guard personnel and the authorities to a hospital, Balilo said, AP reported.

The boat capsized less than half a kilometer from the nearest beach.

Friends, supporters and fellow rowers expressed shock and offered prayers for the sudden deaths in the team’s Facebook account.

Dragon boat rowing using Chinese-style canoes adorned with dragon designs and manned by a team of paddlers and a drum beater on board have long been popular in the Philippines, with teams competing in domestic and Asian competitions.

There was no storm battering the region and government forecasters said light to moderate winds were expected on Wednesday with generally calm seas, but weather in the region has been known to suddenly shift.

Last month, 31 people died when their two ferries capsized in the Iloilo Strait after being suddenly buffeted by fierce waves and winds off Guimaras and Iloilo provinces, not far from Boracay.

The post 7 Dead, 14 Rescued as Dragon Boat Capsizes in Philippines appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“Then they should stop egging Iran to go to war because then if that’s what will happen, even a few hundred missiles, nuclear then there’s no use talking about climate change,” Duterte on Wednesday, speaking at a climate change conference.

He then called for “sobriety” and “cooler heads” in order to avoid a war.

“It behooves upon the leaders of nations who are really there and who can make the change, they can do much and we appreciate nations who approach the problem in sobriety and understanding and providing the cooler heads, so to speak,” he said.

“Let us decide that we avoid war because that would be disaster,” Duterte said.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump threatened Iran of severe “consequences” after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivered a speech warning the US that any confrontation would lead to the “mother of all wars.”

Rouhani had warned his US counterpart not to play with the lion’s tail after Trump’s push to halt Iran’s export of oil.

“Mr. Trump! Do not play with the lion’s tail, (because) you’ll regret it. You are unable to provoke the Iranian nation against Iran’s security and interests,” Rouhani said.

During a recent visit to Austria, Rouhani pledged that Tehran will stand firm against the US threat to halt Iranian oil shipments, saying no other country in the region could export oil if Iran is to be deprived of oil exports.

A number of top Iranian military officials supported the idea afterwards, saying Iran has the ability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz if necessary.

On Saturday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei praised Rouhani’s firm response to the US threat to halt Iran’s oil exports, saying his significant stances that signify the Establishment’s policy must be seriously pursued by the Foreign Ministry.

The post Don’t Force Iran to Go to War: Philippines President appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Rescuers used bulldozers to dig through mountains of mud in the eastern Philippines to search for over 30 people missing after a powerful storm triggered landslides on the weekend, authorities said Monday.

Tropical Storm Kai-Tak continued to drag its way westward across the archipelago nation Monday after leaving at least 28 dead over the weekend from drowning and landslides, the government monitoring agency said.

Most of the dead were in the island province of Biliran, which suffered the worst of the landslides, with many homes buried.

Rescuers searching for survivors on the island were not optimistic.

“There is an assumption that the missing are already dead,” Sofronio Dacillo, a provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer told AFP.

The largely agricultural island of Biliran, with a population of over 140,000, also suffered massive damage to its roads, bridges and power system, which was knocked out on the weekend.

Electricity supply is not expected to be restored until Wednesday, said Dacillo.

“It was like two months of rain fell on one day in Biliran. And because of this, the soil really softened and that is also why so many bridges were destroyed,” said President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque.

Duterte is due to visit Biliran later Monday to inspect the damage and rescue efforts, said Roque.

Kai-Tak’s winds were not very powerful, but its slow movement across the central islands unleashed heavy rains over a long period, flooding large areas.

Many of the islands hit by Kai-Tak also bore the brunt of Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which left more than 7,350 people dead or missing.

In a video message posted on Facebook, the island province’s governor Gerardo Espina said communities were running out of fuel and water as the storm had knocked out many vital bridges, preventing delivery of supplies.

“Of all the storms that passed Biliran … this is the one that we can call the worst,” he said.

As of Monday, Kai-Tak — packing gusts of 90 kilometres (56 miles per hour) — had crossed the central Philippines and was over the western island of Palawan, heading west at 18 kilometres per hour, the government weather station said.

The government expects the storm to move away from the Philippines on Tuesday.

The post Rescuers search for dozens missing after Philippine storm appeared first on Iran News Daily.